Those who grew up during the war years will remember this account of the Fifth Symphony with particular affection. True, there is no exposition repeat and, as Lyndon Jenkins's excellent note points out, there is a four-bar cut in the slow movement, but nevertheless the performance has an unhurried grace, beautifully natural phrasing and delicacy of feeling – so, too, does the Unfinished, though it was (I seem to remember) held in lower esteem at the time than the Bruno Walter version. Of course, Sir Thomas re-recorded these works with the RPO in the 1950s in better sound (available on CD – EMI, 8/90), adding a delightfully sunny account of the Third Symphony to his original LP of Nos. 5 and 8. The 'little' C major Symphony, the Sixth, is good without perhaps having the ultimate Beecham distinction.
The Dutton transfers are marvellous: full bodied and warm – in fact in the best tradition of the house. I recall with pleasure the First and Second Symphonies which Beecham also recorded in the early 1950s (Philips, 5/62 – nla) and hope that these, too, will be restored to the catalogue in due course.'